1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to speed control devices and particularly pertains to a new passenger portable safety devise to stop the vehicle driven by a student driver.
Graduated Driving licensing laws requires that in addition to the driving school training that parents/guardians participate in fifty (50) hours or more of on-road instruction with their teens. As a driving school instructor, I have discovered that unfortunately, most of the parents feel scared and unwilling to help teach their teens with the family car. This leaves most of the students in a very difficult situation to honestly complete and log in their 50 hours. These parents' fears could be justified because unlike the driving school instructors, they have no way of stopping the vehicles in case of emergency or possible collusion. Prior to becoming a certified driving instructor, I once took my sister in-law out in my car to teach her how to drive. Down the road, for some unknown reason, she was overtaken and completely frozen by fear as she pressed the gas pedal all the way to the floor. She loses control of the car and swerves. All my attempts to remedy this eminent disaster were abortive. As she veered off her course, went over the media and across the opposite lane, I attempted to grab the steering from her and redirect the car, but her resistance was too hard to overcome. Since I had no way to stop the vehicle we ended up in a near fatal accident. We hear and read about similar cases all around the country. Fortunately, being a driving aid instructor with passenger brake has helped me avoid multiple close calls and near death crashes with my students. However, this is not the same situation with the family vehicles since they do not have passenger brake and most of them could not afford to pay over $500.00 to buy, drill their cars and install any seemingly permanent/cumbersome brake like the professional schools just for a short while they are needed.
My desire to do something about this situation led me to discuss this matter with my father, Mr. Matthias Okoye (co-inventor). He and I put some ideas together and developed this portable hand-held passenger safety break. My extensive patent search and market research has revealed that no such or similar invention and product is available. The only close art, Osbrake safety brake is discussed below.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The objective of any preliminary patentability search is to discover issued “prior art” United States patents which are similar to the invention being investigated so that a judgment can be made as to the potential for obtaining a patent protection. When possible, a patentability search is directed to both utility and design features of an invention. A utility patent protects the function (i.e., how it works and how it is used). Patent can be issued to any person who invents a new, useful and non obvious (1) process, (2) machine, (3) manufactured article, (4) composition of matter, or (5) any new and useful improvement to any of these types of inventions). Design patent protests the overall appearance or how the invention looks. It can be granted for a new, original and ornamental design for an article of manufacture.
The use of speed control devices is known in the prior art. More specifically, speed control devices heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations. The extensive search of the US patent website revealed neither any known patented prior art or patent pending art. The following categories and subs were searched with no apparent findings: Class 280, land vehicle, subs 748-753 (passenger safety); Class 188, brakes. sub 371-377; 190.01 (operators cab); 187.01 dealing with safety means to a person at a location where operation of vehicle is controlled; Class 296 (land vehicles bodies and top, all subs including (1.04, 1.01) safety device; all class and subs of 180, motor vehicles; 160 (flexible or portable closures, partitions or panel); subs 1.01 (safety device); 190.03 (operators protection in a cab structure); class 192, sub 3.23, 3.24 (alternative brake and clutch); brake supports 188/208, brake 188/2R+, 79.57 manually operated; panic braking DIG1.
However, further market research revealed a passenger safety brake devise by Osbrake, Inc. (www.osbrake.com). The Osbrake devise (not shown) is predominantly used by the professional driving schools and not by the parents.
While this Osbrake device fulfils it's respective, particular objectives and requirement, it does not disclose a new speed control devise similar to the present invention. It minors the regular automobile brake, the only difference being that it is installed on the passenger side.
The present invention, Passenger Portable Safety Brake consists of a handle, an elongated middle section and preferably a U-shaped tip with a latch. The whole device is portable, controlled by hand and needs no installation.
In these respects, the passenger portable safety brake according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the above mentioned Osbrake which has the inscriptions “Patent Pending” and in so doing the passenger portable safety brake provides a new apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of slowing down or stopping a car driven by a student driver.
In making the above described analysis, I have compared and evaluated the differences between the present invention, its application and design with any known similar art, patented or not. The courts have held that an invention may be patentable, even if the invention comprises a combination of features already known and shown in the prior art, provided that the combination itself is not obvious. More specifically, the invention must be considered as “whole” to include each and every individual structural component, implied or described methods of assembly, process of manufacture, chemical composition, and/or functional usage. Since I have disclosed a new and unobvious use for my invention, as well as a description of structural elements which are arranged or otherwise differ from what is shown in my research, I have concluded that utility patent protection could be potentially obtained for this invention.